Piqua Named Playful City USA

The City of Piqua has been recognized as a Playful City USA for 2013.  Piqua is one of the 217 communities nationwide to earn this recognition from over 500 applications.

The Playful City USA designation is a result of the city’s commitment to the cause of play and creating opportunities to increase the quantity, quality, and access to play.  During this past year, the City of Piqua has installed new playground equipment, refurbished existing playgrounds, acquired a new skate park, added community gardens, developed a Parks Board Strategic Plan, and created programs such as Volunteer Park Rangers, Adopt-A- Park, Safe Routes to Schools, and Living Arts.

As a Playful City USA, the city is now eligible for grants through KaBoom! to construct additional playgrounds and improve school playgrounds.

Piqua Awarded Grants from EPA

The City of Piqua has been awarded two environmental assessment grants totaling $400,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the Brownfields Program.  A community-wide hazardous substances grant for $200,000 will be used to conduct five (5) Phase I and four (4) Phase II environmental site assessments.  A petroleum grant for $200,000 will be used to conduct six (6) Phase I and six (6) Phase II environmental site assessments.  Grant funding will also be used for cleanup planning and community outreach.

The current grant awards mesh nicely with two previous grants received by the city for Riverfront Development ($50,000) and the Center for Disease Control ($148,000) which are also directly related to brownfields.  The benefit for the City of Piqua is the opportunity to incentivize redevelopment of these properties for the local economy.

A brownfield site, according to the EPA, is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse that may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

May is National Bike Month

May has been designated National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclist. National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. Whether you bike to save money or to preserve your health or the environment; or to explore your community or get to your destination, biking is fun!Help us to get more people in the community out riding by getting your business involved in the Piqua Bike to Work Week event! This friendly competition between local businesses is designed to promote employee health and encourage an environmentally friendly transportation alternative. And participating is easy! Businesses simply sign up to participate by visiting and completing the registration form. To register your business or to learn more about Piqua Bike to Work Week check out the event flyer and other information found at the Active Living in Piqua web page or like and share our Facebook page Piqua Bike to Work Week.

Piqua Again Named Tree City USA

  Bob Graeser accepts the Tree City Award on behalf of the City of Piqua.

 

On April 19, 2013, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized 37 southwest Ohio cities, villages, and townships as Tree City USA communities. Among them was the City of Piqua which has received the award for eighteenth year. Created in 1976, the Tree City USA award originates from the Arbor Day Foundation, an organization dedicated to tree planting, conservation and the promotion of community forestry.

The Village of Greenhills hosted the 2013 Tree City USA Awards Program at Molloy’s on the Green in Greenhills, Ohio. The title of “Tree City USA” was bestowed upon each community for its ongoing efforts to maintain and improve the quality of life through a concentrated street tree management program.

“Half of Ohioans live and work in a Tree City USA and enjoy a variety of benefits that come with having more trees, such as cleaner air and water, reduced storm water runoff and increased property values,” said Bob Boyles, state forester and chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “The Tree City USA program also helps communities deal with urban forestry challenges, such as the emerald ash borer.”

As part of this nationwide program, Ohioans last year planted more than 27,000 trees, pruned more than 110,000 trees, volunteered more than 48,000 hours landscaping public parks and preserves and invested more than $40 million toward urban forestry efforts.

Since 1979, the ODNR Division of Forestry has assisted communities in enhancing the quality of life within cities and villages through comprehensive tree planting and care programs. In 1997, Ohio became the first state to have more than 200 Tree City USA communities.

Participating communities must establish a tree board or department to carry out a tree care program, enact a community tree ordinance to provide direction, fund the community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita and celebrate Arbor Day with a community ceremony and mayoral proclamation.

Ohio remains the nation’s leader in Tree City USA communities with 235 participating cities, villages and townships. This marks Ohio’s 32nd year as the top Tree City USA state, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Forestry. The event in Greenhills was one of six regional Tree City USA celebrations in Ohio during the month of April.

Bill Lutz Named to Dayton’s 40 Under 40

  Piqua city employee Bill Lutz has been named to Dayton Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 List.  The 40 Under 40 Program recognizes individuals under 40 years of age that are rising stars within the Dayton region that have demonstrated initiative, leadership, and success in their profession and community.

As Development Program Manager for the City of Piqua, Bill works with various neighborhood associations, community groups, and citizens to provide assistance and improve the overall quality of housing and neighborhoods in Piqua.  Bill manages such groups as the Piqua Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, HELP (Housing Enhancement League of Piqua), and Piqua Housing Council.  He is also the coordinator of the highly successful Piqua Government Academy.  Some of his recent initiatives include being the first city in Ohio to utilize Nextdoor and organizing The Big Day. Many of the grants and donations received by the City of Piqua are a result of Bill’s efforts, expertise, and “Can Do” attitude.

Most recently, Bill was recognized by the Ohio Senate for being named to the 40 Under 40 List and will be honored by the Dayton Business Journal on May 24th at a special ceremony in Dayton.  We are very proud of Bill and invite everyone to offer him your congratulations and thanks for his outstanding work.

Piqua Celebrates National Volunteer Week

The City of Piqua is celebrating 2013 National Volunteer Week this week by recognizing the scores of individuals that volunteer their time to help city government and the Piqua community.  Letters of appreciation, along with a small token gift recognition, have been mailed to all those that provide this invaluable assistance throughout the year.

Numerous citizens serve on various city boards and committees, participate in programs such as INVOLVE, HELP, Adopt-A-Program, Volunteer Park Rangers, and donate their time in many other ways.  Without volunteers, many important services and benefits for the community would not be completed due to limited public resources.

Please take time to say THANKS this week to those individuals that do so much as volunteers for our community.

Piqua Energy & Environmental Plan

In order to ensure that the City of Piqua utilizes the most efficient and effective means of energy consumption and environmentally sensitive approaches to our daily operations, we have developed an Energy & Environmental Plan (E&EP) as a guide for city government.  The E&EP provides guidance to city staff in promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the community by being cognizant of both energy and environmental concerns.

The E&EP focuses on buildings, fleet operations, utilities, recycling, smart streets, and data systems.  Goals, benchmarks, and measurements are identified to encourage that we strive for best practices in all these areas.  Examples include obtaining Energy Star ratings for city buildings, evaluating compressed natural gas and electric to fuel city vehicles, achieving 20% of the electric power supply from renewable energy, increasing recycling to 25% of all solid waste collected, implementing a complete streets policy, and installation of a city-wide fiber optic network for multiple uses.

The complete plan can be viewed on the city’s web site at http://www.piquaoh.org/cm.htm.